Environmental Policy

In 2005 Daphne’s Club signed up to the Green Globe 21 environmental benchmarking and certification programme, with a view to becoming part of the global movement for sustainable tourism. Inspired by this scheme we created our Environmental and Social Sustainability Policy.

• Click here to see our policy in English

In February 2008, we submited our first energy and water consumption data to Green Globe 21. Click here to download our benchmarking results.

During 2007 we also became interested in the EU environmental certification scheme “Ecolabel” (the so-called “flower”). In March 2008, we submited our application for the European Ecolabel. In December 2008 we were successfully awareded the European Ecolabel. We renewed our certification in 2011 (available in Greek here). After its expiration we did not submit a new application for certification, as the cost was too high, both in financial terms and in terms of the bureaucratic procedures involved.

In June 2010 Daphne’s Club Hotel Apartments was awarded the international ecolabel “Green Key  for the first time”!

The Green Key® is a worldwide available eco-label awarded to leisure organisations, such as hotels, youth hostels, conference- and holiday centres, campsites, holidayhouses and leisure facilities. To obtain The Green Key the company has to fulfil a list of environmental requirements. These requirements are contained in a number of criteria. Besides environmental demands (for example to control the production of waste and the use of water, electricity, etc.), the criteria include demands on policy, action plans, education and communication. Obtaining The Green Key shows the sense of responsibility a organisation has for its surroundings and society.

We continue applying and successfully obtaining the Green Key certification every year!

Best Sustainability Practices

In 2020 we started to catalogue our “Best Sustainability Practices” with a view to informing our guests or our efforts, but also to inspire other hoteliers to follow our example.

Spurred on by the Green Key certification program, we have continued to update this document annually. Click below to see our latest report (2023-2024).

Zero Waste policy

Since 2022 our hotel participates in the Zero Waste Future network, learning & doing more to avoid creating waste and to better reusing and recycling it. Measures include avoiding all single-use plastics, not creating food waster, composting food waste, recycling recyclable materials, etc

Commitments and actions

Here are some examples of our environmental commitments and actions:

• Minimize our consumption of natural resources, especially water. This is why we installed in 2007 an automatic watering system for our garden and a reverse-osmosis filter in 2023 for tap water.
• Minimize the waste we are creating, eg. by recycling as much of it as possible. We have recycle bins for use both by employees and guests for paper, plastic, glass, aluminium and batteries and implement “zero waste” policies in our kitchen.
• Minimize the greenhouse gasses we are emitting, by becoming more energy-efficient. For example, opening a window will automatically make the air-conditioning stop.
• Invest in new energy-saving technologies, such as energy-efficient light bulbs and better insulation. In 2007 we already replaced most of our light bulbs with efficient Class A ones. More were replaced in 2008 and the remaining ones in 2009.  In 2011 we installed solar panels for heating water, thereby seriously reducing the petrol consumed to warm water for our showers. In 2024 we plan to install photovoltaic panels for renewable electricity generation.
• Support local environmental projects, such as tree planting. In 2007 we started our participation in WWF’s “Check out for Nature” fund-raising project (discontinued in 2010 due to problems in the programme’s international management).
• Create a local network of environmentally conscious businesses. In 2007 we already created a big enough network of ecolabel providers. It was not easy…
• Promote local cultural hotspots, by providing easily accessible relevant information to our guests. We invite you to have a look at our information board for this!
• Contribute to local community initiatives, such as sports tournaments. For example, we financially support every summer the annual Childrens’ Tennis Championship in Sykia; since 2006 we have been financially supporting the annual Panhellenic Tennis Tournaments that take place in Xylokastro.
• Promote local enterprise and employment, by employing local residents and using local businesses. All our employees are local residents.
• Support local environmentally conscious producers, by buying their products. Our breakfast buffet boasts delicious local seasonal specialities, such as oranges and grapes and locally produced organic jams.
• Promote diversity and gender equality. We train our personnel and ourselves non-stop on these issues!

In this process, you, our guests, will also be invited to participate! Here are some examples of the things you can do while staying at Daphne’s Club:

• Recycle
• Avoid using your car. We will provide you with bicycles free of charge as an incentive!
• Consume water and electricity with care
• Learn about local traditions, cultural attractions etc

And here are some things you can do before coming:

• Read Naomi Klein’s book “This Changes Everything“

Earth hour

On March 28th, 2009, Daphne’s Club participated for the first time in the global environmental event “Earth Hour”, by switching off the hotel’s lights for an hour. It was a most enjoyable hour, which we passed by the fireplace, playing music by candle-light. We are seriously thinking of having a daily “Earth Hour”!! To find out more about the Earth Hour click here .

Newspaper article in “Ta Nea” newspaper on our environmental policies

Download in pdf or click here to link to the webpage directly